Long, Long Journey
by Aneirin Lewis
Summary: After the events of Hunter's Moon III, Elisa and the clan have to come to terms with the aftermath of Demona's plan to destroy humanity. With their existence revealed to New York and a renegade Hunter on the loose, what will befall the clan? 01 in series.


Before we begin I'd like to say hello and give my reasons for starting this even though the Gargoyles universe is being carried on through the medium of comic. I wanted to write my own Gargoyles fansaga for a while, and I've been working on it for a long time. This particular piece has gone through three different iterations and I think that I'm finally willing to carry on writing. I hope that you enjoy this and, if you do, please review and tell me why. I want to grow as a writer and as any writer knows it helps to get feedback.

Long, Long Journey is to replace "The Journey" - which I enjoyed watching, but didn't feel it fit in with my universe. LLJ has some of the same events take place but I felt that I wanted to wait a little while before the introduction of certain groups like The Quarrymen.

I hope you all enjoy this,

Aneirin

Long, Long Journey

The afternoon sun shone onto Elisa Maza as she carried a load of groceries across the empty car park of what used to be a research facility owned by Cyberbiotics – most of which was underground – that was now known as the Labyrinth. Elisa Maza, a pretty young woman of mixed Native American and African heritage, was taking the large bag of groceries to her brother, Derek "Talon" Maza, leader of the mutates and clones and protector of the people of the Labyrinth. She had another reason, too, for going down into the Labyrinth.

The night before had been Hunter's Moon, when Demona had tried to wipe out humanity – again – and the night when... when she had found out that Jason Conover was a Hunter, and when she had finally, irrevocably told Goliath of her feelings for him.

Well, not told, she admitted to herself, but shown, and he wasn't yet awake... she would deal with it later, she thought. For now, she had to inform Derek of the previous night's events, regardless of her own feelings.

The previous night... It was strange to think that it was only last night, but the fact that she had to look everywhere to find a shop that was open told her that it must have been. The reports, too. WVRN had released an exclusive, and Margot Yale was scheduled to appear on Nightwatch later in the week. Then there were her own feelings on the matter – she had been drugged and had had to bear witness to the most dangerous of Demona's plans, and she had seen a darker side to Goliath in his quest for vengeance.

Steeling herself, she walked forward and knocked on the door that was the entrance into the Labyrinth, and a deep, hoarse voice answered.

"Who's that?" he demanded, a large, blood-shot eye peeking through a small hole in the door.

"It's me - Elisa. Let me in, Rob," she replied, sighing at the man. "I've got the shopping and I have news for Derek."

"Oh. Elisa. Talon's been wondering when you'd show up. Got something to show you, he said," said the man, opening the hidden door into the Labyrinth.

Elisa considered Rob's words: what would Derek have to show me? she wondered, stepping inside the Labyrinth and almost having to stop herself projectile vomiting when she smelled Rob's breath, reeking of stale alcohol and vomit.

Elisa was led down into the Labyrinth and then through the twisting tunnels and chambers that allowed the Labyrinth to live up to its name, though she knew the way already, she thought it best to allow Rob the smallest of pleasures in guiding her.

"Here's where I leave you, Elisa," said Rob, spreading his foul odour near her face as she was shown into a kitchen – probably, Elisa mused, the remnants of the old Cyberbiotics cafeteria - somewhat far inside of the winding, twisting dank Labyrinth. Elisa smiled weakly at him, almost retching at his fumes.

"Gotta get back on guard duty. S'not like anyone'll come but you, anyway," he snorted, and turned from the doorway and left the room. Elisa watched him leave and then deposited the bags onto the table, letting out a small sigh of relief at the fact that Rob had left.

While a nice guy, Rob stank of his addiction to alcohol, and secretly Elisa wondered why Derek allowed him to continue drinking. Shrugging to herself, she sat down at the large, battered table in the centre of the room and waited for her brother – or Maggie – to come and greet her. She realised that either of the two might be busy with some of the residents of the Labyrinth and so wasn't too miffed when, after ten-or-so minutes, her brother came striding into the room, a wide grin on his face.

Derek, mutated into a huge, humanoid panther with wings by a mad scientist named Anton Sevarius, quite literally filled the doorway and then some. He greeted his sister with a bear-hug and a giant grin. To anyone other than Elisa and a select few others, having such a different brother would be a scary experience and would probably lead to questions about your sanity if you let it slip, but it was now completely normal – to Derek and Elisa, at least.

"How's it, Sis?" he asked her.

"Not good," she replied. "Did you hear about last night?"

"No," he said, concern etched upon his face, "I didn't. What happened? Did one of the clan get hurt? Matt?"

"Yes. No," she said. "Yes. Angela and Hudson, and Lexington, too. Demona's been hunted for a thousand years by a family calling themselves 'the Hunters.' She probably deserved it," said Elisa, "but it caused a lot of bad blood between these 'Hunters' and all gargoyles. They attacked Angela, which got Goliath involved, and somehow they found out that Demona planned to kill all humans with a mix of science and sorcery."

"That's pretty big," he said, and Elisa nodded her head in agreement.

"The guys stopped it, though," she said, "but there were casualties. Jason Cono—Canmore got paralysed. He was a Hunter, but I managed to convince him that not all gargoyles were evil. He tried stopping the other two, but he failed, and his brother tried to kill Goliath; Jason jumped in the way. His brother hates gargoyles even more now," she said, thinking about the irony.

"So Demona was stopped, right, or we'd all be dead. So how'd it happen?"

"Goliath smashed the Praying Gargoyle," she replied, "and without it, Demona'd have been the only gargoyle to survive her plans."

"So, uh, what's a Praying Gargoyle?" asked Derek.

"A magical relic, made hundreds of years ago. Demona said that it'd stop the gargoyles from dying, but when Goliath smashed it... Demona's plan was foiled."

"That's some story, Sis. You ... okay with it all?" he asked tentatively.

"I'm... fine," she said. "This whole... thing opened up a lot of new questions and situations, but I'm fine. Really," she added, perhaps more to convince herself than Derek.

"Well, if you're sure," he said, and Elisa knew his statement for what it was: I don't believe you, but I'm going to leave you alone until you want to talk. "Anyway," he said, "I've got something to show you."

"But what about the groceries? Don't they need to be put away?" said Elisa.

"Nah," he said. "Someone else'll do that – Maggie and the kids, probably."

Derek stood and exited the room. Without waiting for Elisa to follow him, he began walking down a twisting corridor. Elisa, intrigued, got up to follow him. They stopped a few minutes later in front of a door in a part of the Labyrinth that Elisa hadn't yet been to, but one that looked fairly well-looked after.

"Where are we?" asked Elisa, looking around. "I've never been down this way before."

"It's where we," he said, meaning himself, Maggie and Claw, "sleep and live, but it doesn't really matter," he said, waving her comment away as if it were a fly.

"Okay Sis, before we go inside, I'd, uh, like you to tell me that you won't go completely apeshit when I show you what you're about to be shown. If you can't tell me that, you can't see what I'm going to show you." Derek paused, waiting for a response.

"Well..." said Elisa, unsure, but intrigued. Derek knew exactly how to get her so interested in something that it'd make her crazy if she didn't get told what he wanted to.

"I can't promise that I won't freak out, but after what I've seen in my travels, not much fazes me any more, Derek." she said, grinning. "Now c'mon! Let me see what's got you so worried!"

Derek opened the door and led Elisa into the room. Once inside, he shut the door. There were five stone statues in the middle of the room and they all looked terribly familiar...

"Elisa, meet the clones. Clones ... meet Elisa," said Derek, attempting to bring some levity to the situation.

"Derek..." she said. "This one's Brooklyn's clone, and this one's Lexington's... and this must be Broadway's ... and that's Hudson's," she said, tracing her fingers over each of the clones as she named them.

"Yeah," Derek cut in, "Malibu – Brooklyn – and Brentwood – Lexington – and then Hollywood and Burbank – Broadway and Hudson. And, uh, Sis --" he said as Elisa turned to look at the female statue.

"But who's this? It's not Angela, I can see that," she remarked. "Didn't she have a clone, too?"

"Yeah, um, that's sort of what I was trying to tell you, before you saw her... she's, um, you. ...And Demona," he added as an after thought.

Elisa had a look of disgust on her face. "A clone ... of me? And ... Demona?" She turned to Derek, hands on hips, and said "Why didn't you tell me before? I should know that there's ... half of me running around New York's underground!"

Derek coughed. "Um, well, Delilah isn't a 50-50 hybrid of you and Demona. It's more of a 90-10 thing.." he told her slowly.

"And that should make me feel better?" she asked pointedly.

"Yeah—no. Look, Sis. Delilah was ... Delilah was Thailog's replacement for Demona. And by replacement you should know what I mean."

"Oh, God," breathed Elisa. "She... he... did he ever... use her?"

"There's no way of knowing. Delilah won't talk about it – understandably – but even if she would, she wouldn't know all the words... But we think he did. Use her, I mean. She got a little more, er, 'programming' than the other clones, so she's a bit smarter, but she's still like a kid."

"Shit," said Elisa, almost vomiting for the second time in such a short day at the thought of Delilah, an innocent and naïve kid, for all that her body was mature, going down on that... that... mockery of Goliath, on such a... a monster!

"That's what we thought, Sis," said Derek, sighing. "Which is why we... well, I, mostly... that's why I asked you to come see her. She needs... er, well, a positive role-model, and after seeing what Demona thought of her... and now, with all this Hunter's Moon business..."

"What, so I'm meant to be like some kind of... of mom to her?"

"Not exactly like, well... sort of," he said, shrugging. "She just needs a friend," he said, "and she needs to see that only one her her 'mothers,' I guess, hates her. All she knows is hate and abuse, Sis," he said, spreading his hands out in front of him. "Show her friendship, at least. Especially now that what Demona did will leak down here eventually."

"I'll... I'll try, Derek, but it'll be hard. I mean, she's a clone of me and Demona. That's enough to put anyone's back up, you know?" said Elisa, shrugging. It wasn't like she didn't _want_ to help, it was just... creepy, she supposed.

"Yeah, I know," he said. "Watch. It's nearly sunset. They may look like Goliath's clan now, but..." he said, trailing off.

"I remember being told about that," she replied, standing back as the tell-tale hairline cracks appeared on the bodies of the clones. She looked at them all, but her gaze lingered on Delilah as her stone skin cracked.

With a near-deafening roar, the gargoyles awoke, spraying shards of stone all over the room. Elisa's gaze was locked on Delilah, who brushed the remaining few stone shards from her long, white hair. Now that she was flesh, and not stone, her resemblance to Elisa was multiplied tenfold.

"She's... me," said Elisa, raising her hand to her mouth in shock. It was different when Delilah was a statue, because, well, she was a statue, and it hadn't sunk in, but here in the flesh...

"You no hurt Delilah!" said Hollywood, stepping between Elisa and Delilah, who cringed away from her human 'mother.'

"Elisa's a friend," said Derek, poking Elisa gently. "Aren't you, Elisa?"

"Oh, yeah! I want to be friends with you, Delilah," she said, smiling.

"You not... not hurt Delilah?" she asked, in a voice that was eerily like Elisa's own, but with a touch of Demona's mixed in. It really was eerie, Elisa thought, that mix of Demona's voice and hers.

"Nope!" replied Elisa cheerily. "I want to be friends," she said, extending her arm for Delilah to shake. Not really knowing what to do, Delilah grabbed it and shook it clumsily, to which Elisa smiled.

"We go now," she said, scampering out of the door with the other clones, who had left almost as soon as Malibu had brushed all of the stone shards away, into a corner of the room, "hunt!"

"...bye," said Elisa to the back of the female, and shrugged. "That was... quick," she said, turning to Derek.

"She was scared," said Derek, "and the others had gone. They're just big kids, really," he said.

"Really big kids," said Elisa, half-laughing, half-wondering why Thailog would do something so... so abhorrent, for that was the only way to put what the flawed clone of Goliath had done.

"So do you see why it's important that you be nice to Delilah?" asked Derek. "She's like a normal kid, except she has wings and a tail... and her mom's a genocidal maniac. After what Demona did last night, I think she needs you now more than ever. And, uh, she was Thailog's replacement for Demona," he said, not wanting to say anything more.

"Yeah, Derek, okay. I get it. I have some stuff to do," she said. "You know, damage control. I'll come visit again soon, okay?"

***

The sun was setting and the gargoyles were perched upon the castle walls. Their stone-clad bodies began cracking, ever so gradually, until a chorus of roars met the sun's descent.

Goliath looked down upon his clan, and then around the castle. It felt good to be back home, he thought, but the circumstances that had brought them back were less than satisfactory.

The faster I can talk to the clan, he thought, the faster I can find Elisa. Elisa's kiss the previous night had surprised him. One, he had thought that she was... with one of the Hunters, and two... two, he had thought that they had an unspoken agreement that they would not act on their feelings.

Each time one of them had tried, things had... happened, and their attempts at starting a relationship were left in the dust. He hoped that this time would be different, although he was reluctant to try, Elisa had initiated it this time, so he felt safe. Justified in trying again, even, not that he had ever consciously thought about it before.

He still didn't know if Xanatos could be trusted, but for now, at least, he would keep cautious, and try to court Elisa at the same time. He stepped down from his perch and turned to meet Brooklyn, whose face was set into a kind of grimace.

"Goliath," he said, looking up at the larger male.

"Brooklyn," replied Goliath, unsure of what his second wanted.

"I... we... do you think we can trust Xanatos?" he said, quickly, fumbling over the words.

"I do not," replied the tall, lavender male, "but I think that we can, in time," he said, pausing. "The birth of his son has mellowed him," he said.

"So why are we staying here?!" demanded the smaller, brick-red male, his tail lashing behind him.

"It is our home," said Goliath, "and for this, we can trust Xanatos. We would have nowhere else to go. We can trust him not to kill us in our sleep," he said.

"I don't think we can, Goliath," said Brooklyn. "Look at what he's done to us in the past! We need to find a new home," he said, "fast."

"We will stay here," said Goliath, walking past the younger male and descending down the stone steps of the tower, leaving a confused and somewhat angry Brooklyn standing atop the castle's highest tower.

Goliath met the rest of the clan at the bottom of the tower. Angela was talking to Broadway, and from what Goliath overheard, she was comparing Castle Wyvern to Oberon's castle on Avalon. Lexington was itching to use Xanatos's state of the art computer systems, whilst Hudson was fondly remembering the television and chair that he had had when they had first arrived in the twentieth century.

Behind him, Goliath could hear Brooklyn's steps as the younger gargoyle followed him.

"I have something to say to you all," said Goliath. "Now that we have been exposed to the human world we must be careful. We must remain ever aware and cautious, and we must never leave the castle alone. Travel in pairs, threes if need be. I will not see you harmed," he said, his face stern.

"For now," he said, "we will continue to patrol the city as usual in three nights' time. I must speak with Xanatos," he said, excusing himself.

As he walked away from the clan, his mind was on things other than the conversation he would have with Xanatos, but he hoped that the conversation went well. For Xanatos's sake, as well as his own.

As Goliath made his way through the corridors of Castle Wyvern, he was joined by Hudson and Bronx.

"Lad," said Hudson, somewhat hesitantly. "I... I like it here," he said. "See to it that we stay."

"I will do my best, old friend," said Goliath. "It is my intent to negotiate our stay here with Xanatos, and to see that no trickery takes place."

"Aye, lad, and ye'd do well to remember all the evil that man has done to us," said Hudson. "Now, Bronx and I have some business with the television," said the elderly gargoyle, and walked down a corridor, away from Goliath.

Xanatos was in the castle's main hall, speaking to someone on the phone. Goliath strode towards him, and stood in front of him, waiting for the human man to finish.

Upon seeing the large gargoyle, Xanatos smiled. He ended the call with a few pleasantries and stepped forward.

"Goliath," he said, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Xanatos," replied Goliath, "I want your assurances that my clan are safe from your trickery."

"I gave you them, Goliath," he replied, "and I keep my word. I bear your clan no ill will."

"I would know," said Goliath, "where my clan can and cannot go, and where we are allowed to go within the castle."

"Anything and anywhere you like," replied Xanatos jovially. "I told you, Goliath, this is your home. I wouldn't have it any other way. But," he said, "stay in the castle. My people work odd hours and might see you if you go below the main castle building. The Atrium is off-limits at certain hours and days of the year; Hallowe'en, for example," he said. "I'm holding a little ... get-together."

"This is all I needed to know," replied Goliath. "So the castle is ours, then?" asked Goliath, seeking confirmation.

"Yes," replied Xanatos, "every room, corridor and secret passageway. All I ask is that you stay in the castle and, when I have guests, not to appear where they might see you. For your own safety," he added, "and mine."

"Thank you," said Goliath, "this means a lot to my clan and I. Do not let our trust be misplaced," said Goliath, his tone cordial, yet strangely like a growl.

"I've changed, Goliath," said Xanatos, "for good. Kids do that to a man, I've been told." he said, smiling knowingly at Goliath, who nodded at him. Goliath turned, and walked away from Xanatos, back to where he knew his clan would be waiting for him.

"Ah, Goliath?" said Xanatos, "Ms Maza called. She's on her way," said Xanatos, "and she's not nearly as trusting as you are."

"Thank you, Xanatos," said Goliath, walking away.

"I'll send her in when she gets here," promised Xanatos, "and I'll answer any questions that she may have."

Goliath ignored Xanatos, and continued walking away.

"I really do hope we can live together, Goliath," said Xanatos, and when he was sure that Goliath was out of earshot, "I have a lot to make up for."

***

Elisa was sat in her car outside the Eyrie Building. The sun had already set, and she was going to go in and talk to the clan. She could get past security – Xanatos had never kept her away from the clan, even when they were enemies – and if not, he'd sort it out pretty fast. If he didn't, she'd pull an "NYPD, let me in" on them.

If she gathered the courage to face Goliath. It didn't seem like much, even to her, but she just... couldn't, not at the moment. Everything they'd been through together had hinted – and, at times, outright stated – that he liked her the same way that she liked him, but she just couldn't face him. Not with this. What if, when she kissed him, he'd realised that he shouldn't love her the way she loved him, just because she was a human?

She didn't really think that he would reject her, but the possibility was there. She knew that she could gather enough courage to confront him – she had gathered the courage to face Oberon, evil Goliath clones and a genocidal gargoyle bitch, after all – but this was different, somehow.

"Stop it, Elisa," she said to herself after she had been there for a while, "this isn't doing any good. Come on," she said, getting out of the car, locking it, and walking towards the Eyrie Building's entrance.

The guards at the front nodded to her and let her in with no complaints. Either they knew her, which Elisa didn't think was so, or Xanatos had told them to let a woman of her description inside, which she thought was more likely, as Xanatos went through more goons in a month than most did in a year.

Elisa strode across the reception hall of the Eyrie Building and straight to the elevator. She pressed the floor that she had to get off at – the Atrium, as the elevator didn't go all the way up to the castle - and waited. That stupid ambient music was playing around her, and it irritated Elisa to no end. With Xanatos's funds at her disposal, she'd definitely play better music in the elevators.

The elevator stopped at the Atrium with an annoying ping. Elisa rolled her eyes and stepped out of it, and found herself in the Atrium just below the castle. Stepping into another elevator, Elisa stepped out moments later in the thousand-year-old castle's great hall. She hadn't been there a minute, and Xanatos stepped out of the doors directly opposite the elevator.

"Miss Maza," he said "right this way. I'll show you where the clan is," he said, offering his hand to her.

"I know where they are, Xanatos," she said, "unless you've put them in the dungeons."

"I assure you, Miss Maza, that no harm will come to these gargoyles from my own hand – or that of Fox or Xanatos Enterprises." he said as they walked.

He seemed genuine, but Elisa didn't dare trust him – not yet, and not ever, if she had any say about it – and so followed him along the corridors and through courtyards, muttering to herself, "Notice how he never denied having dungeons.

"This is where I leave you," said Xanatos, turning away from Elisa. "Have a good night," he said, seeming genuine.

"Yeah, thanks," said Elisa, snorting and walking away. She could hear the clan – or more correctly, Brooklyn – talking. Elisa wondered why they were outside in a courtyard, but shrugged.

"Hey, guys," she said, smiling as she walked into view. They all turned to greet her – except for Bronx and Hudson, who were absent, and Brooklyn who was staring at Goliath, defiance in his eyes.

"Brooklyn," said Goliath, ignoring Elisa's approach, "Xanatos has given his word. We will not be harmed while we stay here," he said, "and the castle is ours to live in."

"His word is worth crap, Goliath!" he said, his wings snapping open with a crack. "We can't trust him! Look what happened last time!"

"Last time," said Goliath, "we were newly awakened, and naïve to this world. It will not be so this time. We are all disillusioned to this strange new world," he said, "and Xanatos will not deceive us again. We can trust him – with this, for now – and I will not be seen as ungracious, and nor will my clan," he added, He turned from Brooklyn as if to say 'and that's that.' and met Elisa's face with a smile.

"Elisa," he said, "we have much to discuss."

"Yeah, Big Guy, we do. Come on," she said, and took Goliath by the hand. She never usually took the initiative this way – Goliath was the one who took her places, most often – but the clan had dispersed by that point – Angela and Broadway were walking towards Fox's garden, Lexington had disappeared as soon as Goliath had stopped talking, and Brooklyn had leapt off the side of the castle at his first opportunity to do so.

Goliath and Elisa walked back through the castle and towards the library. Their journey was made in silence, but it was a comfortable silence – apart from when Goliath's tail hit the floor in agitation.

"Elisa," said Goliath after the two had entered the library and the doors had been closed.

"Sit down, Goliath," said Elisa, taking an aggressive approach to the conversation. Luckily, the library was dotted with desks and there were even a few large, comfortable chairs. Goliath sat on one of the former, and Elisa began talking.

"I don't know if you can trust Xanatos," she said, "but you're not going to be safe anywhere else. My place is too small and much too risky, and Matt's is out of the question. The Labyrinth would be great," she said, but Goliath cut her off.

"We would not be ... pleased to live in the Labyrinth," said Goliath. "The Labyrinth is Talon's home, not ours," he said.

"There's another reason, too," Elisa said. "The clones. But yeah, this is the safest place I can think of. For now," she added, "and until we can find a better place."

"Elisa," said Goliath. "This – this castle – is our home. A 'better' place cannot be found, and I think that we can trust Xanatos, at least with our safety."

"Well," she said, "if you don't mind, I'll keep an eye on him."

Goliath let out a quiet growl, and wound his tail around the leg of a small table.

"You can," he said, "and I invite you to. I am the leader, and my decision is final," he said. Elisa studied Goliath for a moment, and then spoke again.

"Why didn't you tell me about the clones, Goliath?" she said. "I should have known – Delilah's made from me, Goliath! Didn't you think that I should know?"

"We... the clones are... the clones are awkward to talk about, for us," said Goliath, "they are like us, but not. They are not true gargoyles, Elisa, and my thoughts were that you would not like to know, judging from my own clan's reaction to the clones."

"How could I not want to know?" said Elisa, her voice raised.

"I am sorry," said Goliath, "I did not think of it that way. You are not gargoyle – you can't understand how we feel. It is very hard for the clan to think of ... the clones."

"So you hid them away, instead of teaching them to be 'true gargoyles?' Good idea, Goliath!" said Elisa, who was practically shouting.

"You are not a gargoyle!" said Goliath, standing, his tail lashing behind him. "You can't even begin to know what a 'true gargoyle' is! They are not true gargoyles, Elisa!" said Goliath. "And now, I see, neither are you."

"Yeah, whatever, Goliath," said Elisa, turning from him and walked away. "I thought that didn't matter to you!"

Goliath stared in horror – this wasn't the way he intended the night to go! He had... he wanted to... but not this.

"Elisa!" he called out, but she had already left. This was not what was meant to happen! He was meant to court her, and they were meant to spent the night reminiscing and talking of the future! Anything but this!

Goliath sighed, and kicked an innocent chair into oblivion. He roared, sending a massive, angry sound through the castle. He walked out of the library, roars of anger sounding through the castle. On his way, he passed Broadway, who was carrying a tray full of desserts. Goliath stuck his hand out and hit it out of his hands.

"Hey!" said Broadway in protest, but Goliath just stamped past him, tail lashing angrily, still roaring. Goliath had been this angry before, certainly, but the only time he could remember recently was when someone had hurt Elisa, but this anger was directed at Elisa, not to some attacker.

Goliath reached the battlements, and jumped off the edge. He spread his wings wide and soared above the city streets of Manhattan.

***

"Uh, guys?" said Broadway, holding the tray that once held lovingly-crafted desserts in one hand, and the other held the broken remains of one of his desserts.

"Yeah?" replied Lexington, not even looking up from his computer.

"Do you know why Goliath's roaring and hitting desserts out of people's hands?" he said, looking at his tray with a sad look.

"What?" said Angela, who was doing some embroidery. "What did Father do?"

"I was walking down the hall, and Goliath came past. He looked really angry, and was roaring, and then he hit my desserts right out of my hands! Didn't even stop to say sorry!" he said.

"That's not like Goliath, lad," said Hudson. "Are ye sure it was him?"

"Yeah... who else would it be?" said Broadway.

"Elisa was just here," said Angela. "Maybe she had something to do with it."

"What could Elisa do to make Goliath that angry?" said Lexington, finally having turned away from his computer.

"Lad," said Hudson, "with the two to them the way they are, who knows? Ye know how Goliath is," he said, "and Elisa has a temper to rival Demona's when she gets going."

"Weird," said Lexington, returning to his computer.

"Do you think we should go after him, Hudson?" asked Angela, concern etched upon her face.

"Nay, lass," he said, "yer father can look after himself, but I'm a wee bit concerned for Brooklyn – lad's been gone a while."

"Should we go look for Brooklyn, then?" said Angela, putting her embroidery to one side.

"Aye, lass," said Hudson. "Ach, I never thought I'd see the day when a gargoyle couldn't go for a glide without being in danger, but these are bad times, lass, bad times. The three of ye," he said, "go look for yer brother."

"In a minute, Hudson," said Lexington, whose typing was frenzied, while Broadway just nodded. Angela put her needlework on top of the mantelpiece and scratched behind Bronx's ears.

Together, Broadway and Angela left the room. Lex followed some minutes later, and they met on the battlements.

"Where do you think he went?" asked Broadway, scratching his head.

"Somewhere far away from the castle, probably," replied Lex. "Maybe we should look at some of our old hangouts?" he said to Broadway.

"Where?" asked Angela, who was perched on the side of the wall, ready to glide.

"Before Elisa and Goliath went to Avalon, we used to hang out in the city all the time," said Broadway, "but we stopped when you were on your world tour, and then when you came back with Goliath we were more interested than you than in each other, so we stopped going," he said.

"Yeah," said Lex, "maybe he went to that motorcycle place we used to hang out near!"

"Or maybe he's at that museum!" said Broadway.

"C'mon, let's check!" said Lex, jumping off the castle wall, Angela following him. Broadway came after the two of them, soon catching up. The three of them soared above the city for a while until Lexington, who was the faster of the three gargoyles, began the descent towards a particular building in the city.

It was a part of the city that Angela had never had much cause to go to before – she had seen it from overhead when gliding – but she felt confident in Broadway and Lex, as the two had been there before and they seemed to know it well.

Three three gargoyles touched down on the roof, and immediately Broadway and Lex set about looking for their wayward brother. Angela, however, took a moment to survey her surroundings.

The roof was flat, and had a curious glass "cage" on top of it that Angela thought was a skylight, and there was nowhere really to hide there. Brooklyn wasn't there – Lex and Broadway just confirmed that – so they were going to go look somewhere else for him.

"We should try Central Park," said Lexington, "he goes there sometimes."

"Yeah," agreed Broadway, and so the three of them pushed off from the building and began the glide to Central Park. It didn't take them long, and there they found Brooklyn, perched on a tree.

"Quiet!" he hissed as the other three touched down upon the tree. "Look," he said, and pointed to a group of humans nearby.

"What's happened?" asked Angela.

"Those kids over there started badmouthing gargoyles," whispered Brooklyn, "and then those humans over there stood up for us!"

"Really?" asked Broadway.

"Yeah!" replied Brooklyn, "now quiet, and watch!"

They turned their attention to the arguing humans. The group opposing gargoyles were all around the same age as the group standing up for gargoyles. Both groups looked to be in their late teens, though the group opposing gargoyles was composed of mostly males.

"They're monsters!" said one boy. "They attacked my uncle! Got him stuck in jail!" he said.

"Yeah, so?" said another human; this time, a girl. "They only attacked him 'cause he was working for Dracon!"

"You shut your mouth!" said the kid whose uncle was 'attacked' by the gargoyles.

"Don't talk to her like that!" said another boy, this one, though, was stodd by the girl. "Point is, the gargoyles ain't monsters! They help people! They're misunderstood, that's all," he said, and shrugged.

"Anyway," said another boy, "just 'cause they're different don't mean they ain't people – they're just like, big, scary people."

"Like your mom," said another boy, and sniggered.

"Soylent green is people too!" exclaimed the girl who first spoke – the one who was wearing a t-shirt bearing the words 'Guns don't kill people, magic missiles do!' and the humans broke down laughing.

"They're ugly!" said a girl, and sniffed. "And they smell, too!" she said, her remarks being ignored by everyone, even her own friends.

"Come on guys," said the first pro-gargoyles boy, "Cory's got to go home now – his mommy wants him. See ya Cory!" he said dismissively to the anti-gargoyles boy.

"You'll see, Adam!" said Cory, "just you wait! The gargoyles are monsters, you'll see!" he said, before turning and leaving, his group following him.

"So they don't all hate us!" said Angela. "This is wonderful!" she said.

"Yeah, it surprised me, too," said Brooklyn. "Not all humans hate gargoyles," he said, "and this," he said, "this is what Demona's missing. If she could see this, maybe..." he said, but shook his head. "She's a crazy bitch, so it wouldn't matter. Come on, guys," he said, "we should head back to the castle."

"There are humans who don't hate us," said Angela, still astonished that humans who didn't know them would defend them., as it ran contrary to everything she had seen since leaving Avalon. "I wish that Mother could see this," she said wistfully.

"Me too," said Brooklyn, "me too."

***

Goliath was, to put it mildly, furious. Why couldn't Elisa just see? It wasn't hard! The clones were not... they weren't _proper_ gargoyles! If Thailog hadn't been evil, Goliath would have conceded that he would have made a good gargoyle, but these clones? They were mockeries of gargoyles! Too stupid to do anything, and they were ugly. Not to mention that he already had the originals in his clan.

They'd be fine in the Labyrinth with Talon. Talon could teach them how to glide... he had the wings, and they had the instinct. Maybe he would even succeed in teaching them how to think for themselves and to use verbs, but it was a task that Goliath didn't envy. Even the smallest of hatchlings learned faster than these clones.

Sighing, Goliath veered to the left and touched down on what looked like a nightclub. Perched on the edge of the building, he put his head in hands. _Why_ couldn't Elisa understand? It was obvious that they weren't true gargoyles – they were just bad copies, false images... _shades_ of a real gargoyle.

It had all been fine when the clones were tucked away in the Labyrinth, out of sight and most _definitely_ out of mind. They hadn't had to think about them, and they certainly didn't talk about them.

If he allowed himself to think about it, he could truly say that he hadn't thought of the clones since the night Thailog died. The clones were Talon's problem then, and Goliath had plans to go and see them at one point... but there was so much happening that the clones (already not considered important) were pushed back even further on his mental to-do list.

"Demona," he said, growling. It was her fault. All of his problems seemed to lead right back to Demona – the death of his clan, waking up in Manhattan, the clones, Elisa being angry with him... their home getting destroyed. The _Hunters_ were Demona's fault, even! Everything that had happened since the day they woke up was, directly or indirectly, related to Demona.

Angry, Goliath dropped off the building and spread his wings, catching an updraught. He shook his head, and headed nowhere in particular. It wouldn't really do to blame Demona – yes, it was her fault, but what could he do? Imprisoning her didn't work, and she was already exiled from the clan... no, it would be best to live and let live with Demona. Fight back if she did something, but leave her alone otherwise.

Where had his sweet Angel of the Night gone? It was as if she changed from being a sweet, loving mate into an insane, genocidal maniac. It didn't matter, not any more; he had Elisa, and his clan was healthy, if not safe... and there was Angela. Perhaps the only good thing that Demona had done in her unnaturally long life was lay Angela's egg... but that was being uncharitable. For all her faults, Goliath had to admit that back before the Wyvern massacre, Demona had helped the humans, even though she hated them and was ultimately the cause of Wyvern's fall. He could even accept that he would never have met Elisa if his Angel hadn't done what she had done, but he could never forgive her for it.

Goliath looked down on the streets below him, and saw that he was nearing an entrance to the Labyrinth. His lips curled as he realised it, when there was a sudden and _loud_ whirring coming from his left side and then there was _pain_.

Searing, burning, _hot_ against his side, and there was laughter. Harsh, cruel laughter and the whiz of a helicopter's blades.

"I'll get you, demon!" it said, and Goliath roared; a combination of the pain and of anger. Turning in mid-air, Goliath saw the helicopter... and in it, the Hunter that escaped.

Goliath swore, and did a nosedive to escape another hit. He could hear the Hunter shout something, and the helicopter moved to follow him. Goliath felt another attack narrowly pass him by as he weaved through the air. The Hunter fired a few more shots from his weapon – a brief glance told Goliath that it resembled a hammer – and was struck down by one of them, right between the wings.

With a pained roar, Goliath went crashing down to the ground as his wings seized up and failed to move. Goliath hit the ground with a bang, and slid into pile of cardboard boxes.

Pain lit his left side on fire, and blood dripped from the cuts down his side. Using his right arm, he got up. Immediately, it became apparent that he'd broken his left foot. With an angry roar, Goliath looked around.

He was near enough to a Labyrinth entrance that it would be feasible to escape there... but he had to get rid of the Hunter first. Dropping down into a crouch, with as little weight on his foot as possible, Goliath ran towards the Labyrinth's hidden entrance.

Above him, he could hear the whirring of the helicopter's blades, and a man's voice. Growling to himself, Goliath lunged forwards and crashed through a warehouse door. Biting his lip, he looked around, and pulled a manhole cover from the ground. Quickly, Goliath checked that the Hunter hadn't followed him inside. Reassured that he was alone, he climbed inside. Moments before he pulled the cover over the top, there was a deafening explosion.

Bits of hot metal went flying through the air, and the building came tumbling down around Goliath's head, and he went tumbling down through the tunnel. He landed painfully on his wing, and felt sure that he'd broken it. The pain was unbearable.

Propping himself up with one arm, he wasn't nearly prepared for the intense pain that surged through his body – the aftershocks of the weapon, his broken bones and less serious cuts and bruises culminated in _pain._

Forcing himself to his feet, Goliath hobbled forwards, resting his hand on the wall for support. Not ten steps later, he hit the ground, and everything went black.

***

When Goliath came to, he was painfully aware of a bright, excruciatingly white light pouring directly into his eyes. He hissed, and turned his head away.

"Why he do that?" said a vague, possibly not real at all, voice. It didn't sound real, it sounded far-away... but it sounded like Hudson.

"Hudson?" croaked Goliath, his voice strangely hoarse.

"No," said another voice, and Goliath felt the searing heat of the light being moved. Gingerly, he opened an eye, and saw the blurred outline of a gargoyle. "Not Hudson, Burbank. It's Talon, Goliath. You're in the Labyrinth; hurt pretty bad."

"What happened?" he asked, becoming steadily more alert. He was dimly aware of throbbing pains throughout his body.

"I don't know. I was hoping you'd be able to tell us," was Talon's reply.

"The Hunter," said Goliath with a low, deep growl. "The remaining one attacked me tonight."

"That's... Elisa said they'd got 'em all," said Talon.

"Evidently not," said Goliath. "The female was caught, as was Elisa's Hunter. The last one went free."

"I've had Maggie contact Elisa," he said. "So, uh... how are things?" said Talon, slowly. All he got in reply was a blank, dry stare from Goliath.

"Goliath want water?" asked Burbank, holding a chipped mug delicately in his hand. Goliath was silent – he didn't know how to react. Burbank was... he was not a _true_ gargoyle, he was a mockery... and yet he seemed to understand Goliath's wants, and Talon would not like Goliath's rebuffs to a member of his clan.

"Thank you, Burbank," he said, taking the mug from him and sitting somewhat upright, ignoring the pain.

"Burbank have med-medi-medicine," offered the gargoyle. In his hand were four paracetamol capsules. With an enquiring look, Goliath looked towards Talon, who nodded.

"We use them all the time. Takes four of them to do anything, but you'll be fine." he said, shrugging. "Should ease the pain a bit."

Goliath grunted, taking the pills with the water. He didn't expect them to have much effect, and wasn't too sure if he trusted them at all. The smaller, cloned gargoyle looked happy as he left the room.

"Elisa'll be here soon," Talon said, and suddenly Goliath felt something deep in his stomach, a feeling that he couldn't quite place... Nonetheless, he nodded to Talon. "So, about this Hunter guy... he's not loose in the Labyrinth, is he?"

"I do not... I should not think so," said Goliath.

"Good," replied Talon, "Burbank said you were alone, but I wasn't sure if... well, he's a good kid, but..." said Talon, leaving unsaid what was perhaps not entirely needed.

"The buildings over the entrance," said Goliath, "they were—destroyed during the chase."

"Can't do anything about it," said Talon, "so don't worry. I'll send Claw up there to seal off the entrance hole, just in case this makes the news."

"Derek, I came as fast as I could—Goliath." said Elisa, almost jogging into the room. Her face softened when she saw the state that he was in. "Goliath," she said, "what happened?"

"The Hunter," he said, shifting where he sat. "I was—gliding, and the Hunter followed. He chased me to the Labyrinth."

"Are you hurt?"

"Merely a scratch," he replied, his tail twitching. "I will be fine after a good day's sleep."

"Hey, Sis – you're off duty, right?" said Derek, "'Cause I was wondering if you'd be able to talk to some of the older kids, about the law and stuff, you know?"

"What, now?" she replied, her tone almost snappish.

"Not—not now," he said, "but uh, maybe another time you're off duty? I'd do it, but uh, I'm probably not the best guy to talk about the law to them. All things considered," he said, shrugging.

"Yeah, sure," she said, "but first we've got to get Goliath back to the castle. Derek, help me get Goliath out," she said, moving towards where Goliath sat.

"I am able to walk, Elisa," said Goliath, sliding off the table. The moment his foot touched the floor, however, his face contorted into an image of pain. He propped himself up with his uninjured hand, and growled to himself.

"Fine," he said, through gritted teeth.

***

"Uh, guys?" said Lexington, sticking his head through the doorway, "Elisa's coming over soon, she's got Goliath."

"What do you mean, Lexington?" said Angela, looking up from her book.

"I don't know, she just said that she'll be here soon and that she's got Goliath," replied the small, olive-coloured gargoyle, "maybe he got hurt. Do you think he's hurt?"

"It's not like Father to need escorting back to the castle," said Angela, "I think he might be. Did Elisa not say anything else?"

"No, just that. If he's hurt, we should tell Xanatos... maybe he can help us." said Lex, scratching his head.

"Goliath'll know what to do," said Broadway confidently, "we should just wait. Where're they gonna come in from, anyway? If Elisa's bringing him back they can't glide in."

"The elevator," said Lex, snapping his fingers, "maybe we _should_ tell Xanatos... Elisa might have, but we should make sure, I guess. Anyway," he said, "I should go tell Hudson; he's watching something in the TV room."

Angela watched as Lexington walked off, before taking Broadway's hand and being pulled to her feet.

"Thank you, Broadway," she said, smiling at him, linking their arms together. "Let's go and meet Father and Elisa," she said, leading the slightly bemused gargoyle out of the room.

***

Angela and Broadway arrived in Xanatos's grand entrance hall, where the only elevator that had access to the castle was, shortly after Lexington brought Hudson and Bronx there. The entire clan, with the exception of Goliath, was gathered there, and Brooklyn was talking at Xanatos quickly.

"I'll do my best, Brooklyn," said Xanatos, nodding his head, "I've given the order to the doorman; if Ms Maza brings Goliath to the door, he'll know what to do." he said, smiling broadly. "I assure you, I take Goliath's safety just as seriously as you do, Brooklyn."

Brooklyn seemed to consider that for a moment, tapping his tail against the floor. He seemed to reach a conclusion then, and glared at Xanatos.

"Prove it," he said, before caping his wings around his shoulders dramatically, in an effort to look somewhat menacing.

"Ah, sir," said Owen, seemingly appearing from nowhere, "the doorman reports that Ms Maza has arrived with the ... package." he said, with the last word sounding as if it caused him physical discomfort to say it. "I believe that they have been shown the way to the elevator with no questions asked."

"Thank you, Owen!" said Xanatos, clapping his hands together. "See? Didn't I say it would go well? With any luck the lobby was deserted, and the cameras were switched off," he said.

"Is he... was Father hurt, Owen?" said Angela, stepping away from Broadway to get closer to the blond man.

"I do not know, but I would wager that he can not be too hurt, or he would no be able to walk. Would you like me to get the first aid kit, in the event that he is injured?" replied the stony-faced majordomo.

"Good idea, Owen!" said Xanatos, smiling.

"Thank you, sir," he said, face blank, before leaving the large room quickly. Just as he left through the westward door, the elevator opened up.

Goliath was being supported by Elisa, whose hair was in a state of disarray. Goliath's face was pained; he was leaning against his foot, even though the pain it caused was evident across his face.

At once, Broadway rushed forward to help support him, dropping Angela's arm in the process. Brooklyn followed and relieved Elisa.

"Thanks, Brooklyn," she said, pausing to take a breath. The two younger gargoyles led Goliath to a conveniently-placed chair where he sat, his tail tapping the floor slowly. Bronx waddled from Hudson's side to lick at Goliath's face, mindful of Goliath's broken foot.

"What happened to ye, lad?" said Hudson, looking Goliath up and down.

"A Hunter attacked," he said, growling. "He was not alone," he added. "They attacked with strange hammers." He paused for a moment and breathed deeply, sighing. "We should be extra cautious," said Goliath.

"I can assure you, Goliath, that I will do everything in my power to ensure that the clan comes to no harm. Perhaps it would be prudent to sleep inside – of course, it would only be temporary."

"Aye, lad," said Hudson, "I agree with Xanatos. It would be stupid to put ourselves in unnecessary danger."

"No," said Goliath. "We thank you for your concern, Xanatos, but we will sleep outside, as we have always done. No, my friend," he said, turning to Hudson, "we are gargoyles. We do not hide from the likes of the Hunter. We will stand to meet the sun as we have done always, and always will do."

"Goliath, be reasonable," said Elisa, "your _lives_ are in danger. C'mon, listen to Hudson. _Please._"

"I do not expect you to understand, Elisa; I ask only that you accept us for what we are: gargoyles." said Goliath, and stood. He wobbled slightly as he made his way out onto the parapets, the rest of the clan following him.

Elisa stood there, in the castle's grand entrance hall, with Xanatos across from her and a chair where Goliath had been sat.

"Troubles in paradise, Ms Maza?" said Xanatos, one eyebrow raised. "Shall we?" he said, indicating that they should follow the gargoyles.

"Shove it, Xanatos," she said, frowning, but moved to follow the Machiavellian multi-billionaire out onto the parapets.

The clan had assumed position in their regular sleeping places and Goliath was talking. It was plain that none of the gargoyles – save Goliath – was particularly happy with sleeping outside, especially as Goliath still couldn't stand properly, but they were all silent. From their spot in the shadows, Elisa and Xanatos could hear Goliath's monologue.

"We will not be beaten, Hunter. For more than a thousand years gargoyles have survived and will continue to survive, and you can not – will not – change that. To wish extermination upon us makes you no better than Demona, Hunter. Now hear this: _we are gargoyles_," he said, roaring, before the sun's rays turned him, and the clan with him, to stone.

"Powerful words, Ms Maza," said Xanatos, walking away, leaving Elisa alone, watching the sun rise. Leaning against the cold, stone walls, she looked up at Goliath – a proud, imposing figure set against the early-morning sun – and sighed.

"Someday, Big Guy," she said, and turned away, quickly descending the stone steps that leg back into the castle.


End file.
